CPI Inflation Calculator
The amount and the two years
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Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- General mathematical model
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. Confirm the assumptions, current rules, fees, and rounding that apply to your situation before making a decision.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the amount of money you want to convert, such as a salary, a price or a savings balance.
- 02
Enter the year the amount is from. Any year from 1913, when the index begins, through 2026 works.
- 03
Enter the year you want to express it in. For today, use 2026; the page uses August 2026, the latest month the Bureau of Labor Statistics has released.
- 04
Read the equivalent amount, then the cumulative inflation, the average yearly rate and what a dollar bought in each year.
- 05
Scroll through the table and chart to see the path prices took between the two years, including any years when prices fell.
Formula
Equivalent amount = amount × (CPI-U in the year to express it in ÷ CPI-U in the year the amount is from). Each year's CPI-U is its annual average, except 2026, which uses the August 2026 index. Cumulative inflation = (CPI-U in the later year ÷ CPI-U in the earlier year) − 1. Average yearly inflation = (CPI-U in the later year ÷ CPI-U in the earlier year) raised to the power 1 ÷ years between, minus 1. What $1 from the earlier year equals later = later CPI-U ÷ earlier CPI-U, and buying power lost = 1 − earlier CPI-U ÷ later CPI-U.
Example
Take $1,000 from 1980 and express it in 2026. The CPI-U averaged 82.4 in 1980, and the latest index, for August 2026, is 334.980. Dividing 334.980 by 82.4 gives about 4.065, so the $1,000 is worth $4,065 in August 2026 dollars. Prices rose 306.5% over the 46 years, an average of 3.10% a year. One 1980 dollar equals $4.07, a dollar today buys what $0.25 bought in 1980, and a 1980 dollar has lost 75.4% of its buying power. The table, in five-year steps, shows the same buying power as $1,586 in 1990, $2,090 in 2000, $2,646 in 2010, $3,141 in 2020 and $3,907 in 2025. Only one year in the range saw the annual average fall: 2009, by 0.4%.
Definitions
- CPI-U
- The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This page uses the U.S. city average for all items, not seasonally adjusted, with 1982-84 equal to 100.
- Annual average
- The average of a year's monthly index values. It suits amounts earned or spent across a whole year. For 2025 it averages eleven months, because no October 2025 index was collected.
- Cumulative inflation
- The total percentage rise in prices between two dates, found by dividing the later index by the earlier one and subtracting one.
- Average yearly inflation
- The constant yearly rate that, compounded, carries the earlier index to the later one over the years between them.
- Buying power
- What an amount of money can purchase. When prices rise, each dollar buys less; when they fall, it buys more.
Good to know
How the CPI-U turns an old dollar into today's dollars
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, the CPI-U, is a price level rather than a price. The Bureau of Labor Statistics sets the average for 1982 to 1984 equal to 100 and publishes every other month and year relative to that base. An index of 334.980 in August 2026 means the same basket of goods and services cost about 3.35 times what it did in the early 1980s. Because the index is a ratio scale, converting money between two years takes a single division. Divide the index for the year you want by the index for the year the money is from, and multiply your amount by the result. The CPI-U averaged 82.4 in 1980. Dividing 334.980 by 82.4 gives about 4.065, so $1,000 in 1980 had the buying power of about $4,065 in August 2026. Prices rose 306.5% over those 46 years, which works out to an average of 3.10% a year when compounded. The same ratio answers the question in reverse: a dollar today buys what about 25 cents bought in 1980, so a 1980 dollar has lost 75.4% of its buying power. None of this depends on the base period. The 1982-84 base only fixes where 100 sits; any two index values from the same series give the same ratio. What does matter is using one series throughout. Mixing a CPI-U value with a CPI-W value, or a national index with a metro-area index, produces a ratio that means nothing. This page uses a single series, the U.S. city average for all items, not seasonally adjusted, from 1913, the first year the index covers, to the latest month released. That is also why the answer is a statement about average prices, not a promise about any particular item: over the same decades some goods and services rose much faster than the index and others got cheaper.
Annual averages, single months and the BLS calculator
The Bureau of Labor Statistics runs its own CPI Inflation Calculator on the same CPI-U series, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. It asks for a month and a year, while this page asks for years and uses each year's annual average. The two approaches answer slightly different questions, and they can disagree by more than a rounding error. Within any year, prices drift. In 2025 the CPI-U averaged 321.943, but the August 2025 index was 323.976, about 0.6% higher. A price quoted in August 2025 and converted with the annual average would therefore be treated as if it came from a slightly earlier point in the year. For a price paid on a known date, a monthly index is the closer match. For a salary, a year of rent or anything earned or spent across twelve months, the annual average is the better fit, because it reflects prices over the whole period the money was spent. The current year needs special handling. 2026 is not over, so it has no annual average. This page uses the August 2026 index of 334.980, released on 11 September 2026, whenever you choose 2026. A comparison between 2000 and 2026 therefore runs from the 2000 average to a single month: $100 in 2000 comes out at $194.53, with prices up 94.5%, or 2.59% a year. The answer for 2026 will shift each month as new data arrive, and the full-year average will replace it after December is published. One more wrinkle affects 2025. During the lapse in federal appropriations, BLS could not collect price data for October 2025, and no October index exists. The 2025 annual average used here is the mean of the eleven months that were published. If a contract or calculation of yours depends on October 2025 specifically, check with the party that wrote it, because there is no official figure to plug in.
When prices fell: the 1920s, the Depression and 2009
Inflation is so steady in recent memory that it is easy to forget prices can fall. The CPI-U record since 1913 shows long stretches when they did, and those years change what an old dollar is worth. After the price surge of World War I, the annual average dropped about 10.5% in 1921 and another 6.1% in 1922. Prices eased again in 1927 and 1928, by 1.7% and 1.1%. Then came the Great Depression: the index fell every year from 1930 through 1933, by 2.9%, 9.0%, 10.5% and 5.1%. Prices slipped again in 1938 and 1939, in 1949 and in 1955. Across a range that takes in these years, a dollar can gain buying power. On this page, $100 in 1925 had the same buying power as $80.00 in 1940, because the CPI-U averaged 17.5 in 1925 and 14.0 in 1940, a fall of 20.0%, or 1.48% a year. Since then, falling prices on an annual basis have been rare. The only year since 1955 with a lower annual average than the year before was 2009, when the index slipped 0.4%. At the other extreme, the late 1970s and early 1980s brought double-digit inflation: the annual average rose 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980. That is why the average yearly rate on this page depends heavily on which years you choose. The 46 years from 1980 to August 2026 average 3.10% a year, the 30 years from 1990 to 2020 average 2.30%, and the 50 years from 1975 to 2025 average 3.64%. A single long-run average hides both the deflation of the 1930s and the double-digit years around 1980, which the chart and the table on this page lay out year by year.
CPI-U, CPI-W and chained CPI: which index fits
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes several consumer price indexes, and the right one depends on the question. The CPI-U, used on this page, covers all urban consumers, more than 90% of the U.S. population. It is the headline index in news reports and the natural choice for asking what a dollar from another year is worth. The CPI-W covers a subset: households whose income comes mainly from clerical or wage occupations, about 30% of the population. Its basket follows what those households buy, so it can run ahead of or behind the CPI-U. In the 12 months to August 2026 the CPI-W rose 3.5% against 3.4% for the CPI-U. The Chained CPI-U is built differently. The regular CPI-U compares prices for a basket that changes only periodically, so it does not fully capture people switching from items that became relatively expensive to cheaper ones. The chained index allows for that substitution between categories, which tends to make it rise more slowly. From December 1999, when the chained series begins, to December 2024 it rose about 2.27% a year, against 2.55% a year for the CPI-U. Its most recent months are preliminary and are revised as more complete spending data arrive, which makes it less suited to anything that needs a final number quickly. In practice, use the CPI-U to restate old amounts in today's dollars, as this page does. When a contract, benefit or law names a specific index, use exactly that index, including its area and whether it is seasonally adjusted; the CPI escalation clause calculator is built for that case. And when the question is how your own costs changed rather than average prices, the personal inflation rate calculator weights the latest category changes by your spending.
Frequently asked questions
How much is $1,000 from 1980 worth today?
About $4,065 in August 2026 dollars. The CPI-U averaged 82.4 in 1980 and stood at 334.980 in August 2026, so prices are 306.5% higher, an average of 3.10% a year over 46 years. Put the other way, a dollar in August 2026 buys what about 25 cents bought in 1980, and a 1980 dollar has lost 75.4% of its buying power.
Why is my answer different from the BLS CPI Inflation Calculator?
Both use the same series, the CPI-U for the U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. The difference is the time period. The BLS calculator works from the month you choose, while this page uses each year's average. Within a single year the two can differ noticeably: the August 2025 index was 323.976, about 0.6% above the 2025 average of 321.943. Use a monthly figure for a price paid in a particular month and an annual average for a year's income or spending.
Can I convert an amount back to an earlier year?
Yes. Enter the later year as the year the amount is from and the earlier year as the one to express it in. For example, $100 in 2020 had the same buying power as $50.50 in 1990. The CPI-U averaged 130.7 in 1990 and 258.811 in 2020, so prices rose 98.0% over those 30 years, an average of 2.30% a year.
Has the dollar ever gained buying power?
Yes, in years when prices fell. The annual average CPI-U dropped by about 10.5% in both 1921 and 1932, and fell every year from 1930 through 1933. Across a long enough stretch of that era a dollar could buy more at the end than at the start: $100 in 1925 had the buying power of $80.00 in 1940, because prices were 20.0% lower. The most recent annual decline was in 2009, a fall of 0.4%.
What does the calculator use for 2026?
The year is not over, so there is no 2026 annual average yet. The page uses the August 2026 index of 334.980, released on 11 September 2026. That makes any comparison with 2026 run from one year's average to a single month. Prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026, and the figure will change each month until the full-year average is published.
What is the difference between CPI-U, CPI-W and chained CPI?
The CPI-U covers urban consumers, more than 90% of the U.S. population, and is the index most people mean by the CPI. The CPI-W covers households of wage earners and clerical workers, about 30% of the population; it rose 3.5% in the 12 months to August 2026 against 3.4% for the CPI-U. The chained CPI-U allows for consumers switching between categories when relative prices change, so it tends to rise more slowly: about 2.27% a year from December 1999 to December 2024, against 2.55% for the CPI-U. Its latest months are preliminary and revised later.
Does the CPI tell me how my own costs changed?
Only on average. The CPI-U measures prices for the spending pattern of urban consumers as a whole. A household that drives a lot, rents rather than owns, or spends more on medical care can see a different rate. The personal inflation rate calculator weights the latest 12 months of category price changes by your own spending.